


that full up feeling

by torigates



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-03
Updated: 2011-12-03
Packaged: 2017-12-31 12:32:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1031739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torigates/pseuds/torigates
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Food fight at Mount Justice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	that full up feeling

 

 

  
It started innocently enough. Or perhaps “innocently” wasn’t the right word, considering it involved Robin, and M’gann cooking dinner for Conner. Artemis supposed innocent wasn’t a term that could be applied to those two things.

In any case, one moment M’gann was walking across the kitchen carrying the largest bowl of potato salad Artemis had ever laid eyes on, the next she was hovering above the ground and Conner was sitting at the table with a bowl on his head and potato salad everywhere. M’gann must have tripped, only managing to catch herself with her telekinetic powers and not her dish.

A hushed silence fell over the kitchen.

Robin was sitting in the living room, but he had looked over to see what the commotion was about. Judging from the look of absolute glee on his face, and the way his fist was shoved into his mouth to stifle his laughter, Christmas had just about come early. Kaldur walked in the next moment, a concerned look on his face.

M’gann looked horrified; clearly torn between rushing to Conner’s side to see if he was alright, and knowing when to give the boy some space.

Artemis half wanted to flee.

“I’m so _sorry_ ,” M’gann gushed after a moment, her nurturing desire clearly winning out. She started scooping thick, mayonaisey potatoes off of Conner’s shoulders and back, though for some reason she left the bowl on his head.

Everyone else was still staring, but it still took a moment for Artemis to clue in that the muffled choking sounds coming from Conner weren’t actual coughs, but rather bursts of laughter. Finally, he reached up and removed the bowl from his head. His hair and face were painted white.

“Too much at once?” he asked.

A relieved look flickered briefly across M’gann’s face before she was hit square in the nose with a glob of gooey, white potato salad.

From across the room, Artemis could _hear_ the grin the bloomed on Robin’s face. “Oh it is _on_ ,” he muttered, at the same time Kaldur sighed and said, “Is this wise--?”

It was at that point Artemis should have ducked. In hindsight, she really should have ducked.

In the kitchen, all the food on the counters suddenly sprang two feet into the air.

“Yes,” Robin cackled. “Food fight!” He disappeared behind the couch as all the food pelted towards M’gann’s teammates. Artemis dived for the floor, but she was smacked in the shoulder with what felt like a gallon of spaghetti sauce. It ran down her arm and side, some splattering against her neck and face. She tasted some tangy tomato and garlic in her mouth, before wiping handfuls off her clothes and flinging them towards M’gann. The sauce hovered in mid-air before falling to the floor, a good two feet before it even got close to M’gann.

“Using your powers is cheating!” Artemis called, dodging another round of food. She wasn’t sure exactly, considering the speeds everything was whipping around the kitchen, but she thought she saw some strawberries hit Kaldur squarely in the back on the neck, their juices trailing down into his shirt.

Robin’s cackling was coming from the kitchen rafters, and Artemis knew she had to find cover, or she’d find herself with a vat of pudding, or something worse coating her hair. That would be a bitch to wash out, even with the fancy shower heads Mount Justice had in its locker room.

With her back pressed up against the island in the middle of the kitchen, Artemis surveyed the damage. M’gann and Conner were hiding behind the overturned kitchen table (and when had _that_ happened?), Kaldur was holed up at just beyond the kitchen door, and Robin was god knew where (she could still hear the occasional giggle, but from where she couldn’t tell).

Her clothes and arms and face were splattered with food, but a quick check determined her hair had been mostly spared from the onslaught.

She quickly looked around to see what ammunition she had readily available. The pickings were slim. There was an opened bag of flour sitting on the counter, which she grabbed. It wasn’t ideal, because flour had a low projectile range. She’d have to throw the entire bag and hope it exploded all over the other person, which a) would hurt like a bitch, and b) leave her with only one shot. There were some oranges in a bowl, but while that solved the projectile problem it would still hurt (and Artemis wasn’t cruel), and it wouldn’t actually dirty her opponents (her main objective, obviously).

“Perhaps we should put an end to all this?” Kaldur called out, always the voice of reason.

“Never surrender!” Robin called back, and Artemis _still_ couldn’t figure out where the sneaky bastard was actually hiding. Boy must have hacked into the speakers or something to be able to project his voice in that way. Either that, or it was some weird ninja ventriloquist skill Batman had taught him.

“Are you out of ammo?” Conner taunted. M’gann giggled.

“No fair you two teaming up,” Artemis called out.

“Deal with it!” M’gann shouted back. “This is so much _fun_ ,” she said a bit quieter. “I always dreamed of being in a food fight!”

“So happy to oblige,” Artemis quipped. “Will you be paying for our dry cleaning?” There were sounds overhead, and she tried to duck, and keep an eye out for Robin at the same time. The Boy Wonder was _sneaky_ , she would give him that much.

“Loser pays,” Conner called.

That was definitely _not_ going to be Artemis. She could only imagine how much it would cost to get tomato stains out of her clothes. Thank god Robin wasn’t wearing his cape, that thing must cost Batman a regular fortune to maintain.

She peaked over the island, looking for something that would leave more of a mark on her teammates. On the far side of the kitchen was a carton of eggs. Perfect.

In one motion she stood, planted a hand firmly on the counter, and leaped over island, vaulting towards the other side of the kitchen as quickly as she could. She needed those eggs. They would turn the tide.

Her feet landed firmly on the tiles, and she was moving, the eggs were almost in her reach when cold, red, fruity liquid splashed down over her head, trailed down her neck, arms, and back. She could feel the wetness sinking into her clothing. She stood in shocked silence, and would later deny _ever_ making the high pitched scream that escaped her mouth.

“Fuck!” she said, shaking off.

Robin’s laughter echoed all around her.

No one spoke.

“Robin, you little fucking _shit_ ,” she seethed.

Her other teammates stood from behind their hiding places. M’gann looked sympathetic. Kaldur looked like he wanted to say, “I told you so,” Conner looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“Ugh,” she complained again. There were still droplets of juice running down her back and soaking into her pants. Her clothes really would be a pain to clean now. So would her hair. Her _hair_!

From behind her there was a choking noise, and a strangled, “What?”

All eyes turned to see Wally standing in the doorway.

“What?” he said again, and it sounded like the word physically pained him as it came out of his throat. “What did you _do_?” he asked.

“What does it look like KF?” Robin asked, landing gracefully next to her from out of nowhere. Artemis stuck her hands in her pockets to stop herself from strangling him. There would be time for revenge later. Carefully plotted revenge.

“We had a food fight,” M’gann said. Her tone was cheerful, but her voice raised at the end like a question.

Wally looked horror struck.

“You-you-you,” he stuttered.

“Spit it out, already,” Robin said.

“The food,” Wally wailed. “You wasted so much _food_. How could you?” he asked.

Artemis shrugged. “It was an accident.”

“An accident?” He threw his hands in the air, and did a slow turn, surveying the complete wreck they had ravaged on the kitchen. Artemis was actually a little bit impressed. “You don’t ‘accidentally’ throw this much food around.”

She shrugged again. Robin looked amused. So did Conner. M’gann looked like she actually felt a little bit guilty. Kaldur still had his “I told you,” face on.

“Don’t think I’ll forget about this,” she said turning back to face Robin. “There will be repercussions.”

“I’m shaking,” Robin said, and blew her a kiss. She punched him.

“I’m going to shower this crap out of my hair,” she told the group. It was already sticking to her face and neck, even though she could still feel droplets trickling down her spine. She shivered. “And don’t any of you even _think_ about sticking me with your dirty laundry. You chumps are on your own.”

She stalked off. Behind her, she could still hear Wally’s outraged squawks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The shower heads were magical, but it still took Artemis a good thirty minutes to wash all the juice out of her hair. As it was, she’d probably be sporting an orange tinge for the next couple of days. Robin was _definitely_ going to pay for this.

Her hair lay damp around her shoulders, and Artemis wrapped a towel around her body, as she walked out into the locker room.

“Fucking hell,” she said, when she spotted Wally. His knees were drawn up against his chest, and his was sitting against the wall. “You scared the crap out of me,” she said.

He looked up. “Sorry,” he grinned at her.

“What are you even doing here?” she asked. “If you’re going to yell more about the food, that wasn’t my fault.”

He shook his head, but he still looked pained at the loss of all the potential meals.

“I’m sure the kitchen will be restocked as as good as new before you know it,” she told him. She ran her fingers through her hair wrestling with the tangles there. Shockingly, the conditioner at the cave was not the good stuff she normally used. It was going to be murder to brush out later.

Wally tracked her movement with his eyes but didn’t say anything. Suddenly she was powerfully aware that she was standing virtually naked in front of him.

“Do you mind giving me a little privacy?” she asked.

He shook his head. “What? Oh, of course.” He stood and walked out of the changing room. Artemis reached into the cupboard for something to wear. Her clothes were still wet. Potentially even unsalvageable. She found a spare pair of leggings she had left at some point or another, and a large red hoodie. She pulled it over her head.

The floor was cold beneath her bare feet. She couldn’t find any socks to wear, and even her shoes were wet. Robin was _seriously_ going to go down.

Wally was waiting for her. He swallowed visibly when he saw her, and Artemis felt like she was drowning in the giant garment. Her hair was pulled into a messy braid at the base of her skull, but a few strands clung wetly to her face and neck.

“My sweater,” Wally said.

Artemis shrugged and put her hands into the oversized pocket at the front. “Do you mind?” she asked.

He shook his head no.

They stood facing each other for a long moment. Artemis felt her face get hot under his gaze. She looked down and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Wally’s hands were balled into fists at his sides, and she looked up at him through her lashes. His jaw clenched.

“It really wasn’t my fault,” she said, not sure why she felt the need to defend herself. She hadn’t done anything wrong. He just looked so angry.

He shook his head again. “I know,” he said. “I mean, whatever, I don’t care.”

She reached out to touch him, but dropped her hand at the last moment. “You do,” she said. “Why?” She was genuinely curious.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s stupid.”

This time she did touch him, her fingers pressing against his wrist, the tight tendons there. He relaxed his grip, his fingers finding hers and curling around them. His skin was dry and rough.

Between them, his stomach growled.

“You’re _hungry_ ,” she said, laughing a little.

Wally looked down, sharp.

“We didn’t waste it _all_ ,” she said, and he nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, of course. I overreacted.” He was distracted, distressed.

“What is it?” she asked, frustrated. “Just say it.”

“It’s never enough,” he said. His stomach rumbled again, loudly. His fingers, still entwined with hers, squeezed. She hadn’t noticed they were still touching, but she stepped closer to him.

He reached out with his free hand and twisted his fingers in the front pocked of her--his--sweater. His face was drawn tight, and suddenly she remembered the desert heat in Bialya.

“Yeah,” she said, finally, her throat dry. “Yeah, let’s get you something to eat.” She wanted to reach out and touch his face, put her hands in his hair, and feel him kiss her palm, a different kind of hungry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upstairs, M’gann put three sandwiches down on a plate in front of Wally without being asked, and Artemis sat next to him while he ate them and drank a whole gallon of milk.


End file.
